Drawer suspension



June 17, 1952 w, 5. wooDlN DRAWER SUSPENSION 2 SHEETS-SHEET l .Filed Oct. 26. 1949 Q m. lo?.

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w. E. ,wooDlN l DRAWER SUSPENSION June 17, 1952 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed oct. 26. 1949 IIII IA r r fullurl! r/lilith I I l I. I. Il I l Snventor W/fk.- Waag/N v l l Gttorneg Patented `une 17, 1952 UNITED STAT-ESE PATE OFF-l 2,600,598...v

DRAWERfSUSPENSION Walte1:g E.v- Woodin, Rahwaxa; Nr; J., assigner "5to:

Security Steel Equipment `Corperation,Avcnel, NL J .fa corporation of New Jersey( ApplicationlQctober, 1949; :Serial v'No1 -123;604..

i-claims. (c1. 30s-fas) This invention `relates Vto z drawer xsuspensions.-

and more particularly to metallic extensionfsus.- pensions that permit thedrawer to be withdrawn forits-rfull depth,.-thatfis, with thetdrawer completely out of itsca'se or'cabinetfsofas 11o-'permit theerearmost contents to be lifted Ystraightup for removaL TheA purpose of-this inventionis to providelanimprovedfsuspension ofthis ltime. that f has a positive. progressive action andisvboth economicalito manufacture; .easy to operate.v yand troublegfree in its operation..

Prior.; attempts. haveA been .made to accomplish more, suchattemptsfhave involved theuse of more rollersY or other .equivalent mechanisms lthan. ,ist necessary or usual .to employj in; drawer suspenssions in which .-thewdrawerwis not Vfully exposed when withdrawn. The use of additional .rollers orother devices not .only increases thecost of the suspension-but.v because Vof the space occupied, necessitates larger :drawer` housings vor..cab inets tov enclose the., Yaddi-tional mechanism for a r given drawercapacity, thus further increasing Ythecost'h Thsinvention makes it possible tohave a fully extendedand .exposed drawer'.withoutthefuse of additional. rollers over. and above .thosejusually employed and Withoutthenecessityjof enlarging.

the-size O- th'edraWer housingv or suspension... A

thisinvention is shownias .applied .to a drawer suspension in whieh'the` .travelingneutral members: are connected by :crossbars toform a cradle'f rather thanthat' type of'su'spensionin which the neutral members .areindepende'nt ofl eachlother although'it will-be obvious that this invention'is applicable' .to .either .type of, drawer susr'iension.4 In the following description the suspensionfor one side of the drawer only willbedescribed as itfwi-ll. befunderstood thatthepalfts are duplicated for the'gother side of (the. drawer: asf, is,` neceSSCfbly .Y and customary-.in thistype ofxsuspension.

Uponteachaside Ipfxthetcabneitonzcasine; el and .f5

for ieach .drawer .3 there Eaclrzstationarytrack isfastened to the cabinet reference. character'. I 1, it likewise being-.a 4chan?.

nel-shaped member having K4 an upper horizontalq j langegl and lower vihorizontal flange IS vconnected `bya .verticalfwall 2%. At. its rearupper endttheneutral member is providedlwith a rear roller12| which is mounted with.its upper pe riphely iextending justa through a cutout in the' uppepflange, I8 so'asito engage the under surface oftithe; upperrail l of the:statiorlarygtrack.1` At itsvforward` end the neutral member is provided with Ja second or forward roller 22 which-projects slightlythrough a cutoutin the lower flange I9 in A positionto' engage the upper surface of the4 lower 1ail`8..:. The neutral memberisalso `provided -with a qthirdpr. .intermediate roller.. 23 projecting. througha cutout. in` the'. lower iange I9 slightly j to;v the-reari of the' center thereof and -.in .positi on...

toengage the upperv surface of the lower. rail..8.

Alfourth'or-propellerroller 2li is lalso carried by) 'thexneutral member and projects V.through an.-

otherzicutouttinlthe lower flange le at a point?. slightlyfforward of ,the center of theneutralmeme, ber:r and .engages vthe' upper surface of thef lower raiLBJ The .propeller roller is mountedupen a bracketZE .pivote'dat 21 to Itlue'verticafwall 29; of-V rthe -neutral rmember` andthus is .capable of.. arcuate movement toward and from thelower raili- 8 *to insure contactl with. thelrailV and .positive progressive movementv of the cradl-e`.f: Thisirollen;

as is customary Vin thistype ofl'suspension is the. roller' which insures #the forward and f backward movement of the neutral memberY in proper timed- 1 relation 'to' thel stationary track and -tc the drawer track'asji the drawerds pulled outwardly and 4returned inwardly.AY when the VdrawerY isin -c1esedposition the propeller roller rests in the forward' inclinedportion of a Vdepression e formed 'inthe lowertrack 8V and thus urges. the drawerto closed position.. The neutral member is alsoV provided with the usualo'ating Vupperroller 23 supported within .a slottedhousing'. 29`for rolling and limited linear..movement.. The .housing 29;; is `provided Mhen-inclined fr-Oritedel' Wall-3U fdnguidina;

y is.- secured' a stationary. channeleshaped track. or casing` 5 having-uppera and-lower` :horizontal rails 1 and .8 vrespectively.;:

the drawer track into position if it has been withdrawn for any purpose.

One of the problems inherent in an extension suspension is the proper support of the drawer track and drawer when the latter is fully withdrawn and its track is beyond the propeller roller. If the drawer weight is at the rear it is particularly necessary to support and guide the rear end of the drawer track when the drawer is completely exposed. According to this invention, the bracket 26 is extended upwardly to a point just below the top periphery of the propeller roller to provide an upper substantially horizontal edge 26 which serves to support and guide the drawer track when it is fully extended as it is when the drawer is y fully exposed, or when it is being returned from fully extended position as will be described in greater detail hereafter. The forward end of the bracket also extends beyond the pivot point of the bracket and is tapered downwardly as at 3l so as to guide the drawer track into position and over the propeller roller during replacement of the drawer if it has been removed for any reason.

As is customary in this type of suspension, each drawer carries a drawer track 32 upon each side, each drawer track having a horizontal rail 33 which slides into said neutral member over the forward rollers 22, propeller rollers 24, and intermediate rollers 23, and under the floating roller 28. That is, the drawer tracks extend and travel between the floating rollers above them and the intermediate. propeller, and forward rollers of the neutral member below them.

Another of the inherent diillculties in an extension suspension is to prevent dropping or sagging of the neutral member as it reaches the limit of its forward movement upon full extension or withdrawal of the drawer. In this position the drawer track goes beyond or forward of the propeller roller and permits the latter to raise, and the neutral member correspondingly to drop unless'something is done to prevent it. According to this invention, the neutral member is provided with a downwardly projecting skid or blister 35 struck outwardly from the lower flange I9 between the intermediate and propeller rollers preferably at a point adjacent the propeller roller 24 so as to engage the lower rail 8 of the stationary track as the propeller roller rises due to the absence of the overlying drawer track rail and the weight of the drawer. It has been found that if the depth of the blister is about one sixtyfourth of an inch less than the downward projection of the roller, no appreciable drag is noticeable upon the drawer beyond a possible tendency to hold the drawer in open position against the tendency to move upon extraction of papers from the drawer.

The neutral member is also provided with the usual back bumper 31 which engages a rear flange 38 of the stationary track and with a pivoted front bumper 39 which engages a strike 40 on the front of the cabinet to limit the forward movement of the neutral member. This latter bumper is pivotally mounted to permit it being raised to ineffective position if it is desired to remove the cradle.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that there has been provided a drawer suspension which permits full extension of the drawer and yet involves no more rollers or space occupying mechanisms than is customarily used in a standard drawer suspension, due to the use of the skid and bracket for the propeller roller, neither of which requires any enlargement of the suspension or cabinet over and above that normally used in a drawer suspension of this type. The bracket insures against undue dropping of the drawer track and drawer when fully withdrawn should the predominating weight be at the rear of the drawer, and further guides the drawer track into position. The skid insures against undue dropping of the neutral member when the drawer track leaves the propeller roller. The drawer suspension of this invention also permits ready removal and replacement of either the drawer or cradle or both because in reinserting the drawer, the drawer tracks are guided between the inclined front ends of the propeller brackets and the floating roller housings and are easily and readily guided up to and over the propeller rollers.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that variations of the exact structure illustrated by way of example only, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a drawer suspension in combination, a stationary track having upper and lower rails; a traveling neutral member slidable within said stationary track; and a drawer track slidable in said neutral member, said latter member having a rear roller engaging said upper rail, a forward roller engaging said lower rail and said drawer track, an intermediate roller engaging said lower rail and said drawer track, a propeller roller forward of said intermediate roller and adapted to engage said lower rail and said drawer track, said latter roller being movable toward and from said lower rail, a downwardly projecting skid positioned between said intermediate and propeller rollers and adapted to clear said lower rail when said drawer track overlies said propeller roller and engage said lower rail when said drawer track leaves said propeller roller, and a floating upper roller engaging said drawer track, said drawer track being adapted to slide between said floating upper roller and said intermediate. propeller, and forward rollers, and being adapted to travel forwardly until its rear end extends beyond the forward end of said stationary track.

2. In a drawer suspension in combination, a stationary track having upper and lower rails; a traveling neutral member slidable in said stationary member; and a drawer track slidable in said neutral member, said latter member having a rear roller engaging said upper rail, a forward roller engaging said lower rail and said drawer track, an intermediate roller engaging said lower rail and said drawer track, a propeller roller forward of said intermediate roller and adapted to engage said lower rail and said drawer track, a pivoted bracket secured to said neutral member for supporting said latter roller for movement toward and from said lower rail, said bracket extending forward of said latter roller in position to engage and support said drawer track as it leaves said propeller roller in moving forward, and a floating upper roller engaging said drawer track, said drawer track being adapted to slide between said floating upper roller and said intermediate, propeller, and forward rollers and being adapted to travel forwardly until its rear end extends beyond the forward end of said stationary track.

3. In a drawer suspension in combination, a stationary track having upper and lower rails; a traveling neutral member slidable in said stationary member; and a drawer track slidable in 'said neutral member, said latter member having a rear roller engaging said upper rail, a forward roller engaging said lower rail and said drawer track, an intermediate roller engaging said lower rail and said drawer track, a propeller roller forward of said intermediate roller and adapted to engage said lower rail and said drawer track, a pivoted bracket for supporting said latter roller for movement toward and from said lower rail, said bracket extending forward of said latter roller in position to engage said drawer track as it leaves said propeller roller in moving forward, a downwardly projecting skid positioned between said intermediate and impeller rollers and adapted to engage said lower rail, and a floating upper roller engaging said drawer track, said drawer track being adapted to slide between said floating upper roller and said intermediate, propeller, and forward rollers, and being adapted to travel forwardly until its rear end extends beyond the forward end of said stationary track.

4. In a drawer suspension in combination, a stationary track having upper and lower rails; a traveling neutral member slidable in said stationary member; and a drawer track slidable in said neutral member, said latter member having a rear roller engaging said upper rail, a forward roller engaging said lower rail and said drawer track, an intermediate roller engaging said lower rail and said drawer track, a propeller roller forward of said intermediate roller and adapted to engage said lower rail and said drawer track, said latter roller being movable toward and from said lower rail, a downwardly projecting skid positioned between said intermediate and propeller rollers and adapted to engage said lower rail, a floating upper roller engaging said drawer track, said drawer track being adapted to slide between said floating upper roller and said intermediate, propeller, and forward rollers and being adapted totravel forwardly until its rear end extends beyond the forward end of said stationary track, and means forward of said propeller roller for engaging and supporting the rear end of said drawer track in its most outward extended position when its rear end is forward of said propeller roller.

WALTER. E. WOODIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are ci record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,910,208 Gronberg May 23, 1933 2,157,611 Jones May 9, 1939 

